A Journey
by Kyrieanimelover2007
Summary: A story set with Naruto characters in high school. Full of friendship, love, and weird happenings.
1. Chapter 1

A Journey through Life

**A Journey**

Kyrie walks out of her house, locking the door behind her. She's 18, has dark brown hair to her shoulders, has dark green eyes framed by glasses, and is about medium height. She's also what some might call a 'Rocker Chick'; she wears a lot of black and owns a bunch of anime shirts. Kyrie walks to her mailbox, then across the street to her friend Sam's house. Sam is 17, has dark brown hair to her lower back, and has brown eyes also framed by glasses. She's the same height as Kyrie and also wears the same type of clothes.

"I'm done walking Tsume," Sam says to Kyrie. "Now we just have to wait for Hinata and Neji and we can start to school." Neji and Hinata, who were cousins to each other, lived next door to Kyrie, on the left of Kyrie's house. They all walked to school together, which was only about half a mile. It only took about 15 minutes. This is what they had done for the past three years and would still do this year, their senior year of high school.

"Yep. They shouldn't be much longer," Kyrie replies to Sam, bending down to pet Tsume, Sam's black wolf puppy.

"There they are. I'll put up Tsume now and lock up the house."

"Hey guys! Ready to go?" Kyrie says to Hinata and Neji.

"Yeah. We would have been here earlier but Hinata had to make sure she looked alright for Naruto," Neji tells Kyrie.

Sam, having walked into the end of that conversation, gives Hinata a weird look. "Are you guys going out yet?"

Hinata blushes and looks away. "N…no."

"You two stop messing with Hinata. Let's go. We'll be late at this rate," Kyrie says. They all head off to school.

Fifteen minutes later, they enter the hallway of their high school. Teenagers can be seen running all over, lockers are being slammed shut, being loudly opened, books being dropped, a gazillion loud conversations going on all at once.

Kyrie sighs, "This place never changes."

"No kidding," Sam agrees, looking around for those in their grade. Shikamaru is asleep over on a bench with Chouji next to him, pigging out. Naruto and Lee are facing off on a push-up contest, Lee obviously winning. Ino and Sakura are looking at all the guys and whispering at their lockers. Kiba and Shino walk in together and head to their lockers, Kiba laughing at something Shino said. Over in the corner stands Gaara with a bunch of emo looking kids surrounding him.

Kyrie having did the same, noticing all her friends, replies. "Yep, no one's changed a bit. This year is going to rock."

"Well, we'll see you guys later," Hinata says, starting to walk off toward Naruto, who looks like he's about to pass out from too many push-ups.

"Yeah. See you around," Neji says, heading toward Ten-Ten, who just arrived at school.

"See you," Sam and Kyrie reply at the same time, starting to walk to their lockers.

"Wow, look at everyone; excitement pretty much hums in the air," Kyrie says to Sam, opening her locker.

"Yeah, we've all come so far together. We are all a tight knit group," Sam replies, opening her locker too, which was right next to Kyrie's.

"Yeah, we'd have to all be a tight knit group. Most of our grade is going out with one another."

Sam looks around. "True. Let's see…last time I checked it was Neji and Ten-Ten, they've been going out the longest. For what? A year now? Then there's Sakura and Sai. What an oddball couple."

"Oddball couple? What about Ino and Chouji!? That's an oddball couple. That makes Sakura and Sai look normal. Yep, a lot of them are going out. Shikamaru is going out with Temari, Gaara's older sister. That must be weird, a friend your own age going out with your older sister," Kyrie says, making a face.

"Definitely. But what about Hinata and Naruto? He is so blind," Sam replies, shaking her head.

"Actually, they have been talking a lot on the phone over the summer. I think he just needs to get his nerve up to ask her out."

"Oh! Coolness! We'll have to do something about that," Sam says, with an evil smile and a gleam to her eyes.

"Oh no, I don't like that look in your eye. It's the matchmaking gleam. I remember what happened last time you had that look. Poor Kiba never was the same."

"What? I thought I did good!"

Kyrie looks at her friend, lifting a brow. "She was twice his age and wanted to have his children. He was only fifteen at the time!"

"Well she looked younger. Anyway, it worked out in the end. I hooked her up with Jiraiya. He's loved me ever since."

"Still, I hope I never see that look on your face, pointed in my direction," Kyrie says, closing her locker.

"Oh, but your next," Sam says evilly, closing her locker and turning toward her homeroom class. "I know just the one for you too. See you later." With that she turns the corner and disappears, leaving Kyrie open mouthed and worried. Turning in the opposite direction of Sam, Kyrie starts to her class.

'I'm sure she was kidding…after all neither one of us has time for boyfriends, school just started. Who would she even be thinking about to begin with?' Kyrie worries all the way to homeroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Turning a corner, going to homeroom, Kyrie bumps into Gaara's back.

"Sorry," Kyrie says, looking at Gaara.

"It's fine," Gaara replies.

"Hello, Kyrie, heading to homeroom?" Lee asks. He had been standing next to Gaara, talking to him as he finished up with his locker.

Looking at both of them, they made odd friends. Lee was wearing a white tank top, with blue jeans, and his usual bandages on both his arms. Gaara, on the other hand, had his red hair spiked today, with a black sleeveless, formfitting shirt with a Metallica graphic on it, and baggy black cargo pants, and black flip flops. Actually Kyrie and Gaara kind of matched. Kyrie was wearing a black anime shirt, baggy camo cutoffs, and flip flops.

'Jeez! I have so got to get a boyfriend, I'm starting to ogle Gaara, in plain sight of everyone. Snap out of it Kyrie! Focus! School! Now!' Kyrie berates herself in her head.

"Yeah, heading that way. You guys too?"

"Yep! I heard that Gai was going to be our new homeroom teacher, so I want to get there first to get a first row seat!" Lee says enthusiastically.

Kyrie laughs. "You are ssssooooo hilarious Lee!"

Lee just smiles. They had all shared a homeroom for the past three years, so Lee and Gaara were good friends now. Though Kyrie was in the same homeroom, she was always busy focusing with school work and her art to really pay attention in homeroom. Walking to homeroom, Kyrie starts to pull ahead of the guys. The guys fall back some and get quiet. Gaara elbows Lee in the side.

"Ow! What did you do that…oh…do I have to? Maybe it can wait," Lee whispers to Gaara. Gaara glares at Lee.

Kyrie turns around. "Did you say something Lee?"

"Um…well…I…"

Gaara sighs. "What he's trying to ask is, if Sam is still single and if she would be interested in going to the mall with him this weekend."

Lee's face turns red and he glares at Gaara. Gaara just looks at Lee and shrugs. "Someone had to say it. You were going to take all year to get out one freakin' sentence."

Kyrie stops mid stride. She turns to look at both of them, and smiles. "So you like Sam huh?"

"…Yes. I have for a log time…it's just…she's so cool…and I know she could do so much better than me-"

"Lee, stop. Don't put yourself down. We're friends right, you and me?" Lee nods. "Then listen, I think, in all honesty, that Sam and you would be perfect together. You just leave it up to me." Thinking back on the cryptic words of matchmaking that Sam had muttered before, Kyrie starts to smile, thinking to herself, 'So, if I hook her up, she'll be too busy to try to hook me up. She'd probably try to hook me up with that creep Sasuke. I can't have that. No, I'll hook her up and Lee can keep her busy. Oh yeah! Operation Detour Sam: Commencing.'

Meanwhile, back in reality, not in Kyrie's head, Lee is looking at Kyrie with hope and awe. "Thank you so much! You truly are a friend."

"Lee, really, it's no prob-"

Lee cuts her off with a hug. "I owe you a great debt! You need anything you can just ask!"

"Thanks Lee…how about this…you let me go….I can't breath."

"Oh sorry," Lee says, letting go of Kyrie.

"Come on. We haven't got all day to be all sappy," Gaara growls, giving Lee an evil eye and shoving him toward homeroom.

'What's that look for? Wow something really ticked Gaara off. Wonder what it was?' Kyrie thinks to herself.

"Yeah, we better get to homeroom. I know how Gai is. If we're late we'll have to do, like what…a hundred laps around the school. I think not. That's not how I want to die. I can see it now. 'Senior girl dies from a combination of heat stroke and exhaustion, what a pity, she only made it to lap 10 of 100'."

Kyrie and Lee laugh. Gaara choosing not to, him being the type to rarely smile, much less laugh. They all walk into homeroom.

"Finally, everyone is here!" Gai says. "Today we are going to do something special for homeroom. We are going to run 100 laps around the school!"

Kyrie's eyes bulge out. She turns to look at Lee, who is in the front row, looking all excited, and then she turns to Gaara, who had gotten a seat behind her. "I think this is what they call 'cruel and unusual punishment'."

Gaara looks at her for a second…and then…smiles!

Kyrie's heart skips a beat, and then works over time. Her breath catches in her throat. 'Wow! Holy cow! He is…HOT when he smiles!'

"Gaara…you should so smile more often…wait…never mind…don't ever smile again…you'll make all the girls die of heart attacks. I can see it now. Girls with suddenly weak knees falling down stairs after seeing you smile. Girls having heart attack in the school gym. Lung problems from their breath catching in their throats. You're deadly with such a smile. Good lord, do you come with a warning label? Cause if not, you need one."

Gaara's mouth just hangs open, complete shock registering all over his face.

"Come on class. Let's go outside! Time to start our laps," Gai says, oblivious to all the depressed moans in the class room.

"Freakin' A, I swear he read my mind and is for some reason punishing me. This bites," Kyrie says, walking outside next to Lee and Gaara.

Lee looks at Kyrie and Gaara, "Come on. This will be awesome! You guys can be my partners. Away we go!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Come on guys! Let's go! I'm already on lap 20 and you're on what? Lap 10?" Lee says to Kyrie and Gaara, who were walking their laps, just like everyone else but Gai and Lee.

"That would be lap 5," Kyrie says back to him, giving him the evil eye. "How can you have that much energy? I haven't had that much energy since before I was a teenager. I swear, if you weren't my friend, I'd trip you the next time you came to pass me."

"Trip who?" Sam says coming up behind Kyrie.

Kyrie jumps two feet off the ground, whipping around to give Sam a glare. "You about gave me a heart attack!! Jeez! You just took off ten years of my life…and I think I see grey hairs now. Meanie…I was talking to Lee. He makes me sick with all his 'youthfulness', sometimes. What are you doing out here?"

"All the homerooms are coming out here to do these laps. I think it's just because they don't want to have to do anything so they bummed us off on Gai. Come on, let's catch up," Sam says to Kyrie. Kyrie looks around and sees everybody else from the other homerooms doing the same as Gaara and her. Seeing Shikamaru and Chouji behind her, Kyrie shakes her head.

"No thanks, you go right on ahead. I'll stay back here and see what Shikamaru and Chouji are up to."

"Well anyway I'm gonna catch up with Lee. I'll see you later," Sam says, running off after Lee. Kiba runs by catching up with Sam. Together they run after Lee. A few seconds later Naruto and Sasuke run by Kyrie and Gaara.

"You won't beat me! Believe it!"

"Want to make a bet, idiot?" Sasuke looks at Naruto, and sticks out his foot without breaking his stride. Naruto trips and lands hard. Kyrie and Gaara walk up to him.

"Are you ok?" Kyrie asks.

"That scumbag…I'll get him," Naruto replies, sitting up.

"Nar..Naruto…are you ok? I have some medicine, let me look at your face," Hinata says, coming up to the group, with Shikamaru, and Chouji behind her, looking on curiously. Hinata proceeds to fix Naruto up.

"No, Ino-pig I'll beat you!"

"No way forehead girl! Just because you want to impress that weird boyfriend of yours does not mean I'll let you win!" Ino and Sakura jog by, with Sakura's boyfriend, Sai, carefully keeping a safe distance behind them. The group that had stopped, all looked at them, rolling their eyes.

"What a mess," Kyrie says to herself.

"No kidding," Neji says, walking up with Ten-Ten.

"Oh well, nothing to do but to keep going until the bell rings," Ten-Ten says, starting to walk again, dragging Neji along.

"I guess she has a point," Kyrie says, starting to walk again. Gaara goes too, walking beside Kyrie.

"What a drag," Shikamaru says, following after Kyrie and Gaara.

"I'm almost out of potato chips too," Chouji says, walking beside Shikamaru.

"What a group we make," Kyrie says, looking at the three guys walking with her. "What a group."

Meanwhile, Sam and Kiba have caught up with Lee, enjoying immensely their workout. Gai runs up to them from the sidelines. "Great job you guys! You are the winners of the day! Only 75 laps to go!"

Sam nearly trips with shock. "What? How many laps are we supposed to do? 100?"

Lee looks at her and smiles. "Yep! We are on 25 right now."

"Good lord, I'm all about fitness, but I didn't sign up for 100 laps. No wonder Kyrie was ticked." Just then the bell rings for homeroom to end.

"100 laps was just not a realistic goal," Kiba says, starting to walk to the door that leads inside.

"No kidding," Sam replies, stopping outside the door to wait for Kyrie.

"Hey Sam…you did good. I thank you for jogging with me," Lee says to Sam, scuffling his feet and looking at anything but her.

"It's no problem Lee," Sam smiles at him.

"I…I…was…wondering if…" Lee trails off.

"Yes?" Sam asks. Kyrie walks up behind Sam and slightly pushes Sam, sending her falling into Lee. Lee catches her and nearly faints with happiness.

"Sorry about that Lee," Sam says getting out of his arms and starting to run after Kyrie. Kyrie launches herself through the open doors to the hallway.

"That's what you get for scareing me earlier…plus, you know you enjoyed it!" Kyrie says, running, passing students left and right.

"Err…when I get you…Oh, no…I have something better," Sam says, evil lighting in her eyes.

Kyrie turns to look at her, stopping in the middle of the hall. 'Oh no, that's her matchmaking gleam.'

"I'll just hook you up with someone. I know you're free this weekend," Sam says, calmly walking past Kyrie, who's rooted to the spot in the middle of the hall where she had stopped.

"Sam, let's be reasonable here…" Kyrie pleads.

"What going on?" Lee says, hearing the panic in Kyrie's voice. Kyrie turns to look at Lee and Gaara, both faces full of curiosity.

"She's going to try to hook me up with someone this weekend," Kyrie replies, walking to her locker, which unfortunately was still next to Sam's.

Both girls look at each other, both making faces. Sam looks triumphant. Kyrie looks worried. Lee and Gaara look at each other with identical 'What the heck?' looks on their faces.

Kyrie looks at Lee and Gaara and a light bulb goes off in her head. "Oh by the way, you have a date this weekend too," Kyrie says to Sam, closing her locker and starting to walk away.

Sam's face registers shock. "What!?"

"Yeah. You're going to the mall with Lee, Saturday."

Lee looks mortified and rushes to Kyrie. "I didn't want you to tell her while I was with you guys. I don't want her to say no."

"Lee, don't worry. She won't."

Sam looks at Lee, to Kyrie, to Gaara, and then back again. 'Go with Lee? Did he ask Kyrie if she'd ask me? Well I would have went anyway, but this works out even better.'

"Sure, I'll go," Sam says, a smile forming.

Kyrie stops dead and turns back to Sam. Seeing the look on her face, Kyrie's eyes narrow in suspicion.

"On one condition. You go with us, on a double date, with the guy I choose for you."

Kyrie and Lee look at Sam with shock. Lee nearly bursts with happiness; Kyrie, on the other hand, is starting to feel sick. Looking at Lee, who seems so happy, Kyrie knows she can't say no.

"Fine. With who?"

Sam smiles even bigger. "With Gaara."

Kyrie and Gaara look at each other, both shocked. Even Lee pauses from his happiness for a moment, a bit taken aback.

"But…what if Gaara doesn't want to?"

"Well, I guess I'll pick Sasuke," Sam replies.

"What! No way! You aren't that evil!"

Lee goes over to Gaara and whispers in his ear, while the two girls bicker. "Now's your chance. You've wanted to go out with her just as long as I have wanted to go out with Sam. Now you can. Say you'll do it. It'll be fun." Gaara looks at him, and hesitates.

"I'll do it," Gaara says.

Sam and Kyrie stop bickering, looking at Gaara with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

"What did you say?" Sam asks, barely able to speak through her shock.

"I said I'll do it."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"What's up? You've been quiet all day," Sam says to Kyrie. They were walking home by themselves, Hinata staying at school to help Naruto with homework, and Neji having went to Ten-Ten's house.

"No, not all day. Just ever since Gaara actually said he would go to the mall as my date." Kyrie says back to Sam, not looking at her, just looking straight ahead.

Sam smiles, and looks up at the sky. Dark clouds covered as far as the eye could see. It looked like it was about to rain in about a second, and they had just left the ice cream shop, with fifteen minutes of walking to go before they reached their houses. "Yeah, well you know your happy. You just have to get used to the idea. It'll get you out of the house, to the mall, and with a guy for a change. You need it. I hope it doesn't rain until we get home." And of course because Sam said it, it began to sprinkle.

"Figures. What. A. Day." Kyrie responds. "I've been worn ragged from laps too early in the morning, a chase through hallways, matchmaking schemes, a shock from Gaara, and now I'm going to get rained on. I swear. Freakin' A!" Sam just looks at Kyrie and laughs. Kyrie looks over at Sam and glares, but starts to smile as well. The rain starts to pick up. They start to walk faster. In no time at all, the girls are flat out running, the rain pouring down on them in icy cold sheets. As was their usual ritual, they go to Sam's house, running for the covered porch.

"Good lord! I'm freakin' soaked," Kyrie says, coming to a stop under the porch, water running all down her face, dripping off her nose and chin.

"Yeah, no kidding, soaked and freezing to boot," Sam says, bending over to catch her breath from all the running, her hair sticking to the sides of her face.

Suddenly the door opens. "I think I heard someone. Maybe it's them-" Out walks Sam's younger brother, his mouth dropping open at the sight of the soaked girls. From behind him, Lee and Gaara walk out of Sam's house. All three guys just stare. Sam and Kyrie look up and freeze, not believing that the guys they were going to go on dates with are standing in front of them at such a terrible time. "Um, well, guess you didn't make it before the rain," Sam's brother says and walks into the house, closing the door behind him, leaving the two soaked girls and two wide eyed guys standing there. Sam straightens up, pushing her hair out of her eyes. Kyrie does the same and pulls on her shirt, trying to stop it from sticking to her like a second skin. Sam and Kyrie look at each other, both thinking, 'Could this day get any weirder?'.

Meanwhile, Lee and Gaara are frozen to their spots on the porch. Both having temporarily forgotten why they had come. Lee looks at Sam and thinks to himself, 'Wow! She has a great body! She looks amazing…Should I be thinking these thoughts? Stop it Lee! Stop ogling her! She might get the wrong idea!...But I can't help it! She takes my breath away.' Lee proceeds to have a pained expression on his face. However, over at Gaara, Gaara isn't being so modest. He is openly staring at Kyrie, with her black shirt sticking to her, and her whole body dripping water. Looking at her, he thinks to himself, 'Amazing. She's so beautiful. I can't believe I've liked her for the past four years and never did anything, never told her. What do I do now, to show her that I care? I'm so inadequate in this area.'

Sam leans over to Kyrie, whispering in her ear, "Awkward." Kyrie nods her head, completely agreeing.

"Sooooo…um…what brings you guys here? And how did you guys know where Sam lived?" Kyrie asks the guys.

Shaken out of their thoughts, Lee and Gaara exchange glances. Lee gulps and replies. "We asked Neji before school let out. We…well…we…"

"I found some art things that had your name on them," Gaara said to Kyrie. "The stuff was next to your locker. I figured you had forgotten them, and so Lee asked Neji where you lived. Neji told us, but when we got to your house, no one would come to the door, and we knew Sam lived in front of you, so we headed here."

"Yeah, but just then the rain hit, and so your younger brother let us in and said we could wait for you guys, that it wouldn't be but a minute. So we waited," Lee finished, looking at Sam, with a slight smile. Gaara elbowed him. Lee looked at Gaara, and then back to Sam. "Plus…we got some tickets to a movie tonight…for the drive-in…and we were wondering if you guys wanted to go with us."

Kyrie and Sam exchange shocked glances. Sam then looks at Lee. "But it's raining. The drive-in can't do movies in the rain."

"Look, it's already stopped. Plus, where the drive-in is, there is a roof over the screen and parking area. It's a weird drive-in," Lee replies.

"Yeah, no kidding. Never heard of such a drive-in. But it does sound like fun. What movie?"

Lee, getting all excited, replies, "The Forbidden Kingdom."

Sam and Kyrie exchange wide eyed looks. "We've been wanting to see that movie," Kyrie says. "I'm free. Are you Sam?"

"Yeah, I am. I just have to change and call my dad to let him know."

"Alright, the same here. I have to go to my house, change, and leave a note for my mom," Kyrie says.

"I'll get your art stuff out of the car and take it over to your house, if you want me to," Gaara says to Kyrie.

"Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks." Kyrie and Gaara head to Lee's car, and then over to Kyrie's house.

Sam and Lee look at each other and smile. "You look nice," Lee suddenly blurts, looking mortified after he said it, having not meant to utter it out loud.

Sam looked shocked and then smiles. "I look like a drowned rat."

"No, really, you look good...I mean…fine…You look fine."

"I'll look better in a minute. Come inside. You can relax while I change and dry my hair."

Looking at Sam with adoration, Lee replies, "Ok. I'll wait right here for you." Sam walks into her room and shuts the door, not hearing what Lee says last. "I'd wait here…forever."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Kyrie walks into her house, Gaara following with her art supplies. "This way." Kyrie leads Gaara upstairs to the last room in the hallway. Opening the door, Kyrie ushers Gaara in. Every wall is covered with her drawings, plus all kinds of things Asian oriented. On the far wall is her art area. "You can put those there. I appreciate you doing all this."

Gaara puts down the supplies where she had pointed to, standing back up, he turns to her and smiles a tiny smile. "It was no problem. Lee and I didn't want to leave the supplies there in the hall, they could have disappeared."

Kyrie laughs, rummaging through her closet for clothes. "I doubt anyone would want any of my art or art supplies."

"That's not true…you are an amazing artist. Just look at your room, filled with all these amazing artworks…By the way…like Asia much?" Gaara laughs.

Finding a hoodie in case it rains again, plus a clean shirt and pants, Kyrie closes her closet door. "Nope, not like. Love. I'm fascinated with Asian culture. They have such history, such amazing customs. Sam and I are wanting to go there one day. We were actually thinking about going this coming up summer, after we graduate from high school."

"Oh, that sounds like fun, but won't it be a bit dangerous, just you two going alone?"

"I don't know, mom, but we couldn't find anyone else that wanted to go and had the money. Could you…wait in the hall for a second, so that I can change?"

"Oh," Gaara says, blushing a bit, hastily going to the door. "Sorry."

"It's no problem. I'll only be a minute." Gaara goes out, closing the door behind him. Kyrie smiles and changes her clothes. Opening the door back up, Kyrie looks for Gaara. He's down the hall a bit, looking at pictures of Kyrie when she was young. Rushing to him, Kyrie pulls him back down the hall to her room. "You're sssssoooooo not allowed to look at those! They are terrible! I was an ugly, ugly child…not that I'm saying I'm beautiful now, I'm not, just that I was really bad looking as a child. I so don't want you to see me like that. You can come in here and wait while I dry my hair…unless you want to go back to Sam's. I'm not trying to make you stay here, that's not what I meant…I'll just shut up now." Kyrie says, blushing red.

"No, I'll stay here and wait for you to finish. Anyway, you were not ugly as a child. You were very cute. Plus, you are beautiful now. Why would you think otherwise?" Gaara asks, leaning up against the wall, next to the door.

Kyrie plugs in her dryer, but pauses before she turns it on, "I've never been called beautiful before. Well not really. I've been called pretty by old people, but they just say that because they were raised to be polite. They could see the ugliest person in the world, and they'd say that person was beautiful. So I've never held their opinions in high esteem." Kyrie laughs, and starts up the dryer.

Gaara looks at her thoughtfully. 'How interesting. How could she not know she's beautiful? Just being with her, here, now, is amazing. Something I've only dreamed about. I'm going to have to show her she's everything a guy could ask for…everything I could ever ask for.'

Kyrie finishes up with her hair, writes a note for her mom, grabs her keys, phone, and wallet, and turns to Gaara. She comes up short when she sees the look on his face. "What?"

Gaara snaps out of it. "Oh, sorry, nothing."

Just then the doorbell rings, and the door can be heard opening. "Kyrie! Where are you?" Sam yells.

"We're coming," Kyrie yells back. "Well we better go." Kyrie and Gaara leave the room, Kyrie closing the door behind her. Walking down the hall, Gaara starts looking at the pictures again. Kyrie notices and throws her hand over his eyes, laughingly pulling him down the hall. Gaara smiles, and pulls her hand away, and then looks at Kyrie. Together they meet Sam and Lee at the front door. Kyrie leaves the note, and they exit the house, locking the door behind them. Sam, noticing that Kyrie and Gaara seemed to be staring at each other when the other wasn't looking, elbows Kyrie in the side, giving her a knowing smirk. Kyrie just glares back, a corner of her mouth turning up in a smile. Just then Kyrie notices that Sam and Lee are holding hands. Kyrie looks at Sam, raises one eyebrow, looks at the couples hands, and then wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. Sam blushes wildly.

"When I came back out after I changed and dried my hair, he was just standing there with that cute smile of his looking so excited, and well…he asked me to be his girlfriend. It melted my heart. I was like putty in his hands. So I said yes." Kyrie and Sam exchange girly smiles, while the guys open up the car doors. Lee opens the front passenger seat door while Gaara opens the door behind that. Sam and Kyrie slide in, happy to be treated in such a sweet way. Lee and Gaara then get in, and the four share happy excited smiles.

"Well! Let's head to the greatest movie in the world!! Forbidden Kingdom here we come!!" Lee says happily. Sam smiles at him, and takes his hand. Kyrie laughs and looks at Gaara. Gaara just smiles and shakes his head, used to his friend's antics.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"You have got to be kidding me," Sam says, as the four of them stare at the sign saying 'Closed' at the movie theatre.

"It figures," Kyrie replies, turning around and walking back to Lee's car. Gaara follows, with Sam and Lee coming as well. They all reach the car and just stand there a moment, all of them looking a bit disappointed.

"I really wanted to see that movie," Sam says, leaning up against Lee's car.

"Yeah me too. Now what?" Kyrie says.

"Give us a moment," Gaara replies, taking Lee by the arm and walking away so that Sam and Kyrie couldn't hear them.

"What are we going to do now?" Lee asks, panic in his voice.

"You mean you don't have a backup plan?" Gaara says.

"No…and now Sam will think I'm boring and never want to go out with me again. She'll break up with me! What are we going to do!?"

Gaara looks at him, then back at the girls. "I have an idea. Come on. Give me your keys. I'll drive." Gaara pulls Lee back to the car. Sam and Kyrie stop their conversation when the guys come back. Lee takes Sam's hand and leads her to the back passenger side and opens the door for her. Letting her get in, he closes the door, walks back around the car, and gets in the back seat next to her.

"So what's up?" Kyrie asks.

Gaara puts his hand on the small of her back and leads her to the front passenger seat. Opening the door for her, he let's her get in and replies, "I have an idea. It's a surprise though." He closes the door, walks around, gets in, and starts the car.

"What's going on? What's your idea, Gaara?" Lee asks.

"Just trust me."

Fifteen minutes later, Gaara pulls onto a dirt road. Another thirty minutes go by with no one noticing. Listening to Sam and Lee's happy chatter going on in the backseat, Kyrie smiles, and then looks at Gaara.

Gaara feels eyes on him and looks at Kyrie. He gives her a smile. Kyrie smiles back, thinking to herself, 'What nice lips he has. I wonder what it'd be like to kiss him…What the heck am I thinking!? He would never like me! Pull your head out of the gutter, Kyrie!' Kyrie snaps herself out of it and turns her attention to outside the car. "This road is creepy. We haven't met anyone on this road since we got on this road…and I haven't seen any houses at all."

"That's because there aren't any. No one lives down this road anymore. Another thirty minutes and we'll be there," Gaara replies.

"Be where? And why doesn't anyone live down here anymore? Something bad happen down here?" Kyrie asks, suspicion starting to feel her mind. Just then on the radio _Vampires_ by Godsmack comes on the radio. A hand reaches out and touches Kyrie on the shoulder. Kyrie's heart skips a beat, but outwardly she personifies calmness.

Sam takes her hand away, but whispers in her friends ear. "I have a bad feeling about this." Sam leans back in her seat and stares outside for a moment, trying to regain her calm. Just then Lee wraps her in a hug. Sam's eyes widen, then close, happiness enveloping her. The bad feeling goes away. Sam opens her eyes and looks up at Lee. "You make me feel safe." Sam moves into his embrace.

Looking into the rearview mirror at the happy scene, Kyrie smiles, her worries starting to abate. "So, are you going to answer me?"

Gaara looks at her, then turns back to the road. "You'll see."

"Patience has never been a virtue of mine," Kyrie mutters to herself, looking out the window. Gaara hears her words and smiles.

Another thirty minutes goes by, and Gaara starts to slow the car. Everyone else in the car snaps to attention, curious as to where they are. Gaara turns into a driveway. It's pitch black outside, the only light coming from the headlights of the car. Kyrie turns the music off, and silence so thick you could touch it engulfs the foursome. Gaara proceeds forward on the driveway. A heartbeat goes by, and then another. The car approaches a thick stand of trees. The road they are on goes right through the trees. Gaara takes them into the thick forest. Kyrie looks at Gaara skeptically, then back outside. Sam and Lee are on the edge of their seats, both feeling the tension in the air. "Lock the doors Kyrie."

Kyrie turns around to face Sam. "What?"

"Lock the doors." Sam says quietly, not bothering to look at Kyrie, but staring intently out the window.

Kyrie turns back around. Meeting Gaara's eyes for a moment, they stare at each other. Gaara then locks the doors.

"Something bad is about to happen," Sam says. Lee, Gaara, and Kyrie all tense up. All of them feeling something as well.

Just then the car stops, the engine dying. The four are enveloped in darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The four of them freeze. It seems to each individual that surely their own heartbeats can be heard by the others in the car. Their pulses pounding so loud in their ears, the tension hard to bare. The darkness is overwhelming. The silence becoming deafening.

Gaara is the first to recover. He calmly tries to crank the car back up. Trying again. Then again. And yet again.

"Stop."

Everyone jumps, including Kyrie, the one would said it. The voice sounding strange in this dark atmosphere.

"It's going to be fine," Kyrie says, trying to sound calm. "Do you have a flashlight somewhere?"

Lee, snapping out of it, replies, "Yes, there is one in the glove compartment."

"Good," Kyrie replies. Reaching inside the compartment, Kyrie finds the light and switches it on. Nothing happens for a moment, and then blinding light erupts.

"Alright, now what?" Sam says.

"First off, let's save that battery for when we really need it," Gaara says, taking the light from Kyrie and turning it off. Darkness once again takes hold of them. "Secondly, does anyone have service out here?" They all find their phones and a chorus of no, and nope goes around. "Well then, I hate to ruin the surprise, and this probably isn't the best time, but I was taking you guys to a haunted house. People are allowed to come anytime. That's why no one lives out here anymore. They say a mass murderer escaped from prison, found this house by chance, and needing shelter, came inside, and killed off the whole family, but racked with sin and guilt, he finally took his own life in the house. After that no one could live in the place because all who tried heard voices or got hurt. However, since no one has gotten hurt in over fifty years, someone decided to open the place up as a tourist attraction. I've been by once before, but when I was here it was closed. At that time, a cottage close to the entrance to the house had a caretaker living in it. If we can get there, we can use their phone to get help."

"That's a bit iffy isn't it? When did you come by the first time?" Sam asks, finding and taking Lee's hand. Calmness steadied her.

"It was about six months ago."

"That sounds like a reasonable timeline for the caretaker to still be here," Kyrie replies.

"I suppose we can always hope," Lee says.

"Alright let's do this. How are we going to work this? Lee and I go, and Kyrie and Sam stay in the car?" Gaara says.

"Hell no! I've seen too many horror movies to just naively stay in the 'presumed' safety of the car. I'm going with you guys. It's better in numbers," Kyrie replies.

Sam nods, although it's not really visible. "Yes, Kyrie has the right idea. I'm so not staying here. I'm going with you guys."

"Ok. let's do this then. No sense in wasting more time." With that Lee exits the car. Gaara follows, as well as Sam and Kyrie. Gaara takes the keys and puts them in his pocket and locks the car doors. All four of them meet at the front of the car and pause for a moment, trying to get adjusted to the darkness. After a moment, the four can see enough to distinguish the road and trees. Gaara walks over to Kyrie and takes her hand. Leaving the flashlight off, they start walking, Gaara and Kyrie in the front, Lee and Sam following close behind.

Five minutes pass, then ten, then fifteen, all passed in suffocating silence. It was August, a warm, gentle night…or it was supposed to be. After the fifteen minutes in silence, Sam stops short, Lee calling out to Gaara and Kyrie to wait.

"What is it Sam?" Lee asks, worry filling his voice.

"The cold isn't supposed to be here," Sam whispers.

"What cold?" Kyrie asks.

Just then a cold wind whips up. Leaves swirl all around them. The trees start to sway. The darkness seems to deepen.

"We have to go! Turn that light on Gaara and run!" Sam says frantically.

A deep booming sound can be heard from the direction they had come, seemingly getting louder, closer. Gaara turns on the light, and holding on to Kyrie's hand, starts to run. The four run frantically, trying to reach the cottage where the caretaker should be. The sound get's louder, and louder. They run faster, and then faster. The minutes stretch and stretch, seeming like hours.

The woods disappear, and the four emerge into a clearing. Before them is a small cottage, and far back, barely visible is the scariest looking three story, dilapidated house anyone has ever seen. A brief moment of shocked hesitation, and the four spur back into action, all lunging for the cottage door, all four out of breath. Sam is the first to reach the door. Turning the knob, she cries out. "It's locked!" She starts banging on the door, harder and harder. Lee runs around the cottage to the back door, finding it also locked. Meanwhile the sound is closer, louder. The wind is icy, piercing. Deathly cold.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but let's go to the house!" Kyrie yells over the biting wind.

Gaara looks at her, winded, and concerned for her safety. Lee and Sam stop banging on the cottage door. They all pause and then launch into action. They scramble for the house. Closer. Closer. Closer they get to the door. Closer the sound comes to them. Then they reach the porch. Lee turns the knob…They pour into the house. The wind and noise is upon them. Lee and Gaara throw themselves at the door, battling the wind, to close the door. They struggle, but finally succeed.

All goes quiet.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The darkness is consuming. Sam and Kyrie are puffing out breaths on the floor. Lee and Gaara are up against the now closed door, bent over double, hands on their knees, wheezing. After a few minutes Sam and Kyrie get up and walk over to the guys.

"Is everyone alright?" Sam asks, trying to make out faces, but barely able to make out body shapes.

Kyrie shivers, realizing she is freezing. "I'm fine, but I'm cold as all get out."

Gaara straightens up and walks over to her. "Here, maybe this will help." He gives her the flashlight and proceeds to rub her arms up and down vigorously.

Lee, having straightened up as well, walks towards Sam's voice and bumps into her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sam replies, "but I think we should make good use of that flashlight and try to find a phone around here. I'm getting cold too."

"Good idea," Lee replies. "Who has the flashlight?"

"I do," Kyrie replies. Turning the flashlight over to the button, Kyrie presses it. Then presses it again. Then again. Starting to shake it, she tries again. "Um…guys…I hate to break it to you…but the flashlight isn't working. It won't turn on."

"You have got to be kidding me," Gaara replies, taking back the flashlight. Gaara tries as well. "Damn. It totally figures."

"Let me see it," Sam replies. Gaara hands over the flashlight. Sam looks it over, turning it this way and that, then proceeds to wave it through the air aggressively. "Work! I command you to work!!"

"Sam, jeez! Calm down! That's not going to help," Kyrie says to her friend. Walking over, Kyrie walks in front of Sam. At that time the light comes on, blinding Kyrie. At the same time a loud crash and bang can be heard, like a door crashing open from the back of the house. The flashlight goes out again, leaving everyone in pitch black again.

No longer used to the dark, the only thing they can do is stare off into the dark in the direction of the noise, waiting until they could see again, hoping it would be alright.

Sam inches closer to Kyrie and whispers in her ear, "Are you ok?"

Kyrie, rubbing her stinging eyes, replies also in a whisper, "No! I'm not ok! I'm freakin' blind right now! Damn that hurt!"

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to get the light to work."

"It's fine. I know. I'll be better in a minute. We need to find a phone," Kyrie replies, opening up one eye, then another. Determining that she can see, despite the darkness all around, she looks toward where the noise had come from. "How much you want to bet if there's a phone, it's down that way."

"No! Don't say that! You'll jinx us!" Sam whispers fairly loudly.

"Come on, if everyone can see alright now, then I suggest we find a phone and get out of here," Gaara says to everyone.

"But which way?" Lee replies, looking at the huge room they were in. Straight in front of them, directly opposite the front doors, was a grand staircase, the steps splitting in two, one set to the left, one set to the right. To the left of the teenagers, was a huge double door, closed. To the right was a doorway straight under the staircase, leading in the direction of the noise.

"I would think, in an old house like this, if there was a phone it would be either in the study/ library or in the kitchen. The backdoor is usually in the kitchen and the kitchen is usually in the back of the house, so probably that's where the noise had come from. So I vote to check out the door to our left first, it's probably the study," Kyrie whispers.

"That sounds like a plan to me. I don't like the idea of going to the back of the house where the kitchen is," Sam replies.

"Alright then, to our left it is," Lee replies, walking toward the closed door. About to open the door, Lee stops when Sam puts her hand on his arm.

"Here, take the flashlight. That way if something's in there, you can hit it," Sam tells Lee. Lee smiles, takes the flashlight, and starts to turn the knob. All four hold their breath. The knob turns, no noise at all. Lee slowly opens the door. Stopping with the door just wide enough to allow him to enter, Lee slides into the room. Sam follows, with Kyrie next, and Gaara last.

"This room is weird," Gaara says to no one in particular. "It's completely empty. That's so creepy."

"No, what's weird is that there is deep, random shadows all over, but no object to make the shadows. So why is there weird shadows?" Kyrie replies.

"This room has bad vibes," Sam replies. "I don't like it."

"It's alright, look, here's a lamp. It's probably useless, but I'll see if it works," Lee says, trying to calm Sam. Lee walks over to the lamp, about to try the switch, when the room erupts in blinding light. All four close their eyes against the abrupt whiteness.

Lee is the first to recover. Opening his eyes, he gasps. "Let's get out of here. There's no phone. Sam just keep your eyes closed. I'll show you the way out. We'll try the kitchen and then get out of here."

"What is it Lee?" Sam replies, panic in her voice. Sam tries to open her eyes, but her eyes aren't adjusted enough.

However Kyrie and Gaara have recovered. Kyrie stands in shock at what she sees before her. "Sam, do as Lee says, and don't look. We'll lead you out. It'll be fine that way." Kyrie walks over to her friend, as Gaara heads toward the door. Kyrie takes Sam's arm and tries to lead her back outside the room.

"No, I want to see what's happened." With that Sam opens her eyes and nearly screams. "Oh my God! So much blood! That's what the deep shadows were! Blood! We have to get out of here! Now!" Sam turns and runs toward the door, but before she get's there, the door slams shut. Turning the knob and pulling, Sam cries out. "It's locked!"

"What!?" Lee, Gaara, and Kyrie yell at the same time. All three rush to the door, pulling on it, and turning the knob.

"What the heck is going on!?" Lee says, frantic.

Then, just as before, the light goes out.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

All four gasp as the darkness surrounds them. They huddle together trying frantically to get the door open, with no luck at all. Just then Sam goes stiff. Standing next to her, Kyrie and Lee feel her stiffen.

"What's wrong, Sam?" Kyrie asks.

"Well, other than the fact that we are all trapped in a haunted house, in the middle of no where, with no light, and something out to either get us or scare the living daylights out of us, I would say that the fact that ghosts are in this room right now, might be a factor as to why I'm FREAKING THE HECK OUT!" Sam replies.

"Ghosts, in the room right now…" Gaara trails off as a luminescent light starts to form across the room. They all turn to look. The light separates into white lights, two tall ones and two smaller sized ones. Looking closer, the four realize that the lights aren't just weird shapes, but the shapes of people, two adults, and two kids. As the four watch, the lights become more detailed, less blindingly white, and more like humans, but able to be seen through. The kids seem to laugh, but no sound can be heard. They are playing a game on the floor. The parents walk over and look down at the kids, smiling at one another, and saying something, but once again, no sound can be heard. Then the parents and children jump, as if startled, and look toward the door. The father lunges for a cabinet and proceeds to rummage through it. The mother gets her children and pushes them into a corner, behind her, her face full of terror. The children are crying, scared. The father finds what he's looking for and runs in front of his wife and children, and waits. The gun he found pointing towards the only entrance, but only exit as well, to the room.

The four watch, fascinated, not able to turn away from what they know to be the final minutes before the death of this family. The room goes icy cold. The four, with the illumination of the spirits, can see their breaths before them. Ice seems to form all over the room. The windows ice over, obscuring the outside. The four start to shake violently.

The father yells, but no noise can be heard. His hand starts to shake, and then it flies back as he pulls the trigger. The mother weeps, holding her children close, trying to comfort them, but still…no noise. Then the father's eyes go wide, the mother freezes, and the children pause…

BANG!

The windows start to rattle as the scene disappears. The light in the room turns on, then off, then on, then off. This keeps going on as the four are rooted to their spots. Then Sam snaps out of it and lunges once again for the door.

This time it opens, and they all pour through the door, back into the entry room. They slam the door closed, all four out of breath as if having run for miles. They all lean against the closed door, as the lights continue to go off and on inside the room and watch the floor as the light pours through the crack at the floor. Then the light turns off and stays off. They all sigh in relief. After a few minutes, they relax and start to stir.

"What the heck was that! A glimpse into the past!?" Lee says, a bit worried.

"They were trying to show us what happened," Sam replies, all nervousness gone, replaced with utter calm.

"But why us?" Kyrie asks, more to herself than to anyone else.

"I don't know…to warn us perhaps. To show us what happened to them so that perhaps it wouldn't happen to us. We have got to get out of here," Sam says.

"Yeah, I agree," Gaara replies. "I'm heading to the kitchen to see if a phone is there and if it still works." Gaara starts to walk off, but Kyrie grabs him.

"I don't like that idea," Kyrie tells him, looking earnestly up into his face. "Listen…the wind has stopped, everything seems pretty normal. Maybe we should go back outside and try the caretakers place again. Maybe the caretaker is back by now or something."

"That sounds better to me than going to the kitchen," Sam says, heading toward the front door. Turning the knob slowly, Sam holds her breath, as does everyone else. With the knob completely turned, Sam opens the door slowly. Once completely open, they all look around, noticing nothing. Sam walks slightly outside, with Lee close behind. They look all around. Not seeing anything Sam turns back to the others. "I don't see anything."

WHAM!

Sam flies back inside the house, lifted up by a strong wind. Sam lands hard on something. The door slams shut, an audible click can be heard as the door locks.

"Sam!" Kyrie yells, running toward her friend.

"I'm fine," Sam moans, "but I landed hard on something that broke my fall."

"That would be Lee," Gaara replies from a slight distance off.

"What!! Lee!! Are you ok?" Sam says frantically, getting off him.

"Yes…I'm…fine…" Lee replies brokenly. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, thanks to you."

"I'm glad you are ok…though I might need you to help me up…I'm a little sore at the moment."

"Of course!" Sam proceeds to help Lee up, rubbing her hands all over him to see if he's ok. Meanwhile Lee has forgotten all pain with just the touch from Sam's hands. He starts to wobble. "Lee! You're about to fall over!"

"No, I'm fine, really. Just a little weak in the knees. I'm feeling fine."

Hearing this, Kyrie snickers and grins a wolfish grin, knowing why his knees are weak. Walking by him, she whispers to him, "Perhaps a little too fine."

Heat pours over Lee's face. 'Thank God this place is too dark for Sam to notice me blushing. I would die if she knew.'

"Let's go, Romeo," Gaara says from right behind Kyrie. Kyrie nearly jumps out of her skin.

"Jeez, Gaara, make more noise will you. I didn't even hear you come up behind me. You could have given me a heart attack," Kyrie says, whipping around to face him.

"Sorry," Gaara replies, looking down at her with a look that obviously said he wasn't sorry one bit. "Let's go to the kitchen. We have no other choice."


End file.
